The Eremika Plan
by adventuregirl101
Summary: Everyone can tell that Eren and Mikasa have a deep relationship. Of course they know very little about what happened to them in the past. Not even Armin knows the whole story. So everyone has come to notice how Mikasa feels towards Eren and all work together to try and push them together. But they have some reason to believe there's more to her feelings than they truly know.
1. Chapter 1

Ever since Eren has returned and Squad Levi was made anew, they've been in hiding due to a new threat of the people turning on them. They can't seem too suspicious though, so they have to act as if they were living normal lives. Now in a house in the open near the outer skirts of Wall Rose, Squad Levi is in quiet as to hide Eren and Chri-I mean Historia.

Mikasa was outside helping unload more supplies along with Sasha, Armin, and Connie. Sasha glimpsed at Mikasa and Connie and noticed their attention was off her. She grabbed a potato and slipped into her skirt pocket and handed another box to Connie.  
"Don't think I didn't see that, Sasha." Armin said handing the box to Mikasa.  
"What?" Sasha said in a shaky nervous voice.  
"You know what I mean. Give me the potato" Armin said disapprovingly. Sasha signed as she pulled the potato out of her pocket and surrendered it over to Armin.  
"Good girl. Maybe I'll give you some of my bread tonight at dinner." Armin said. He knew that she loved food, so handing over a potato wasn't as easy as she made it seem.  
Sasha's face lit up, "Really?!"  
"Maybe," He responded. But this didn't change Sasha's attitude.

Mikasa ignored their conversation, too distracted from the heat. She wiped the sweat off her forehead as she was handed another box. It was way too hot to be doing chores today. Mikasa tugged at her scarf to get more air around her neck.  
"Mikasa, isn't it a bit too hot to be wearing that scarf?" Connie said concerned. Mikasa tugged at her scarf again before receiving another box.  
"No, it doesn't really bother me," She lied. The heat was unbearable, but she refuses to take off the scarf.  
"Why? I've only seen you take off that scarf once and that was just to clean it!" Connie said rousing Sasha and Armin's attention.

Mikasa was handed the last box an set it next to the others. She ignored Connie's comment and continued to carry the boxes inside. After she entered the doorway Connie popped.  
"Why does she always wear that scarf?" He asked himself. Armin came up next to him and tapped his shoulder.  
"You want to know?" He said in a subtle voice. Sasha dashed in front of Armin and turned to him.  
"You know?!" She said in excitement. Mikasa always wearing the scarf was a question asked my most of the squad, so hearing that Armin knew the answer really excited her. Connie moved next to Sasha blocking Armin from going anywhere as if he would try to get away.  
"Eren gave it to her a long time ago. A year before the fall of Wall Maria. I don't know why he gave it to her exactly, but it seems pretty dear to her, so that's probably why she always wears it." Armin told them. He pushed through between them and carried the remainder of the boxes into the house.  
Connie and Sasha stood there with smirks across their faces. One of the biggest of their questions has been answered, and boy the answer is very juicy! There was no way they were going to keep this from everyone else.

That night Eren was stuck cleaning the rooms for the second time due to Levi's disapproval of his work, he was forced to clean it again. He muttered to himself as he cleaned. Dinner had already started and he was stuck cleaning. He jumped when he felt to arms go around his waist. He looked over her shoulder to see Mikasa trying to keep in her laughter.  
"Mikasa?! What are you doing?!" he yelled. "Don't be so loud" she said releasing him. She stepped away from him to give him some space.  
"I didn't see you at the table, so when Levi said you were still cleaning, I figured I'd come help." She said as her smile faded back to her neutral line.  
"It's okay, I'm almost done here, I'll be out in a minute." He said continuing to sweep. He didn't want her to help, he could do this on his own.  
"Are you sure, because, all that muttering didn't make it seem like there _isn't much left_," She said glaring at him. She didn't believe him at all. She picked up the broom next to the door and begun to sweep.  
"I can do this on my own." he said with his back to the bed he just remade.  
"How many rooms are left?" Mikasa said ignoring his comment. Eren ignored the question. He didn't want her to have to help. "How many?" she repeated.  
"…one more" He said in a low voice.  
"Okay, after I finish sweeping I'll get started on the next room. Which one?"  
"The next room to the right."  
"Okay"

There was silence as they cleaned. They could hear the faint voices coming from the dining room as they transitioned to the next room. Eren was trying to stay focused so they'd be done quicker, and a conversation would just hold them back. They finished the room quicker than expected.  
"Thanks." Eren said on the way out of the room. After he turned his back Mikasa smiled a little. It wasn't much, but him thanking her meant a lot to her considering how he's been since the fall. He's been angry and never really liked it when she tried to help.  
She followed him out the door to the dining hall. Luckily, it seemed like there was barely a dent in anyone's food (except Sasha, who's plate was nearly clean, except for some bread). Everyone stared at them as they sat down at the table. Noticing, Eren and Mikasa seemed confused. "Did we miss something?" he asked.

(_earlier_)

Most of the squad had just finished their chores for the day and were already at the table. Nearly everyone was seated at the table except for Connie, Mikasa, Eren, and Sasha. Mikasa walked to the table noticing Eren's absence.  
"Where's Eren?" she asked. Eren was almost always at the table before her.  
"He's finishing up some cleaning." Levi said as he took a sip of his tea.  
"I guess I'll go help him then." Mikasa walked away with no question about it.

Armin had just settled at the table and stared out the window wondering where Connie and Sasha could have gone. _They were with him earlier after unloading those boxes, but where were they now? It was nearly dark so they couldn't be outside much longer if they actually were out there._ With that Connie and Sasha walked through the door whispering to one another. _What are they talking about?_ _They had smirks across their faces so it couldn't be good. Knowing them, they're probably going to spill it during dinner. They weren't exactly_ good_ at keeping secrets._ They sat down with Armin between them and their smirks disappeared.  
"Sasha, what's going on?" Armin whispered. She turned to him whispered back "You'll find out," she said. Now Armin was certain that they would tell everyone during dinner.  
Everyone was at the table now except for Eren and Mikasa.  
"Where's Eren and Mikasa?" Connie asked.  
"They're cleaning, just start eating." Levi said. He honestly didn't even care.  
"Perfect…" Connie announced. This was going to work out perfectly. That smirk came back onto his face as well as Sasha. They glanced at each other, nodded, then turned back to the table.  
"… we don't need them to hear this." Connie continued. Everyone's attention was Connie and Sasha as they began to talk.  
"We have come to believe that Mikasa 'likes' Eren." Sasha said aloud. Armin's mouth dropped and he instantly covered it with his hand. _They are seriously going to talk about this? This is what they've been whispering about all afternoon!_ Armin started to feel guilty for telling them about the scarf. But he knew, something had to be said at some point. Or else they would have found out on their own.  
"Of course she likes him, he's like family to her." Historia said from the end of the table.  
"You know what we mean." Connie said. Everyone knew what they meant.  
"And we're talking about this now because…" Levi said. He had no interest in this conversation at all.  
"Because Eren and Mikasa aren't here." Connie explained.  
"How do you even know this?" Jean said as he scraped his fork along his potatoes.  
"You guys know how Mikasa always wear that scarf?" Sasha began. _No, please don't _Armin thought to himself. He felt absolutely terrible for telling them now.  
"It turns out Eren gave it to her a long time ago." Sasha explained. Jean's eyes widened a bit along with Historia and Armin. He couldn't believe they were saying this.  
"Haven't you noticed that Mikasa only lets her guard down and shows emotion when she's talking to Eren?" Connie added. It really struck everyone. They became aware of it. They began to believe.  
"And where did you get this information?" Historia said. _Please no… just stop_.  
"Armin told us" Connie and Sasha said in unison. Armin's hands were covering his face now. He was regretting telling them. He didn't want everyone to know. He just felt that he could tell them. So why was he feeling so guilty? He removed his hands from his face to see everyone's eyes on him.  
"Yes, it's true. But I don't exactly know what caused Eren to give it to her." He admitted. "When I first met her, she already had the scarf. Also, she had just moved in with the Jaeger family. This was a year before the fall of Wall Maria." He finished.  
"Wait, he lived with her?" Jean said. Everyone stared at him. He was one of the few people that didn't know.  
"Yea, she told us awhile ago." Historia said. "Well at least she told the girls." _That makes sense. Mikasa could have shared with them during their trainee years and Levi would know because he has to know this information. So I guess that leaves Jean and Connie the only ones who didn't know anything about their past._ Sasha and Connie quieted down at that and began to eat.  
"Wait, what was the point of telling everyone this?" Armin asked.  
"Oh, right! Well I figured we could try and get them together." Sasha said with her cheery voice. Everyone dropped their food and stared at her. Connie began to explain. "Well, considering the recent events, it's shown that Eren has changed a bit and is showing more concern for Mikasa. We feel that maybe his feelings could have grown."  
Now everyone had stopped eating completely. It was completely silent.  
"So, are we going to or not?" He added. Still silence.  
"… okay" Historia said. "I'll try but I don't know how much I can do to push them."  
"I'll try too." Armin said with his eyes on the table. He ripped off a piece of his bread and put it on Sasha's plate. Her face lit up as he handed over the bread.  
"… Fine. But if things look like they're going south, I'm backing out" Jean said with his arms crossed.  
"You brats, if you absolutely need me to do something, I will. But otherwise, no." Levi said and the conversation ended. Back to silence. Eren and Mikasa came from down the hall and sat at the table. There was silence.  
"Did we miss something?" Eren said which made everyone realize, that they were staring.  
"No, nothing…" Sasha said smirking at her bread.

Yay! Chapter 1! I haven't written since the summer and I was really starting to miss writing. I've had a huuuuge writers block so that didn't help. But I got a bunch of Pocky last night and I guess it got rid of the writers block, yay! It's snowing, I'm hipper, going to the city tomorrow, POCKY! CHAPTER 2 COMING SOON!


	2. Chapter 2

Since last night everyone has been whispering and giggling, specifically when Eren or Mikasa came near them. And they've both noticed it. Eren was becoming suspicious while Mikasa just did her work and tried to ignore them. That night, before dinner, Mikasa pulled Eren aside.  
"What's going on? Why is everyone being so secretive?" Mikasa asked. She was becoming upset with all of the secrets being kept.  
"I was going to ask you the same thing. They just keep whispering and giggling and it's reaaaally annoying." he said. He has dealt with secrets before, but never with all of his friends keeping it from him.  
"What should we do? Ask them?" Mikasa asked.  
"I say we just wait it out. We'll find out eventually even if nobody tells us." Eren said. Mikasa calmed a bit then walked back into the dining room. Only Historia and Armin were at the table as she sat. Eren followed and sat next to her. There was another silence. The silence was broken as Sasha and Connie entered the room, talkative as ever. They sat down continuing their conversation as everyone else arrived. There was an even ration of potatoes, bread, and carrots. Everyone ate in silence, except for Connie and Sasha. _Seriously, what's going on?_

The next morning Sasha and Connie came up with a plan to get Eren and Mikasa alone.  
"How about we lock them in the closet?" Sasha offered Connie.  
"Why? What would that do other than piss them off?" Connie said.  
"Ugh, isolation. They'll be alone."

"Together…"

"With nowhere to go…"

"Just trust me." Sasha explained and so, their plan commenced.

Sasha was assigned to washing the dishes with Mikasa and used it as the perfect chance to lure her. As always, Mikasa was wearing her scarf. Sasha ran a thought through her mind on how to lure her. It would be risky. She might get killed, but she has to do it. _First strike up a conversation._  
"So… Mikasa… what's been going on lately?" Sasha said. She may be a good planner, but was horrible at improvisation.  
"What is there you don't know, we kinda have the same lives going for us right now." Mikasa answered with her voice flat.  
"Just trying to make a conversation, it's boring when it's silent." Sasha said with her voice shaky.  
"Then why was everyone so quiet yesterday, even you up until dinner." Mikasa looked at Sasha right in the eye. The dishes were washed and dried, it was the perfect moment. Sasha felt a bead of sweat rise on her brow. _Please don't kill me, Mikasa_ Sasha yanked the scarf off Mikasa's neck and ran. Mikasa didn't hesitate to chase her. As Sasha ran tears streamed down her face. _Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit. I'm going to die!_ She rounded the corner and opened the closet door and ran inside. Mikasa tackled her to the ground and grabbed the scarf. She pinned her down and stayed on top of her.  
"WHAT THE HELL SASHA?!" she yelled. She released Sasha and offered a hand to help her up. Sasha excepted the hand and stood up.  
"I'm so sorry, Mikasa." She said as she walked out the door. She slipped the key out of her pocket, slammed the door shut and locked it. Mikasa banged on the door.  
"SASHA! LET ME OUT OF HERE! LET ME OUT!" She screamed. But Sasha was already outside. She ran as soon as the door was locked. She ran to Connie.  
"She's locked in, your turn." She told him. With tears stained on her face still. She was so scared that Mikasa would catch her.  
"Were you… crying?" Connie asked. He noticed the tears stained to her face.  
"You would too if you were running for your life! She would have killed me if she caught me!" Sasha argued. Connie understood. He closed his eyes, and nodded to she he understood. Sasha turned and ran back into the house to dry the dishes. She felt a rush. _A near death experience is really exciting!_

Mikasa signed and stopped hitting the door. She sat on a bucket and started braiding a mop. Somehow, she figured she wouldn't be going anywhere for awhile. And she couldn't be more right.

Connie, Eren, and Jean were in charge of chopping fire wood. Eren took out all his rage and stress on the wood which made it easier to chop. He continuously swung at the pieces of wood and put the remains to the side, starting another piece. Connie began to feel a bit uncomfortable. _Maybe now isn't the best time to bother him…_ He then thought of Sasha. She was chased by Mikasa, so he figures he has to take a risk as well.  
"So Eren…" Connie started. Crap, there was nothing to talk about. Then he figured out another way.  
"Your axe is getting dull, maybe you should sharpen it. Or maybe get a new one. There are others in the supply closet" Connie offered. Eren stopped swinging and looked at his axe. He was right, it _was_ becoming dull. He set it against a tree and wiped his forehead.  
"Which closet?" He asked. Connie's eyes widened. He forgot to ask Sasha which closet. _Stupid!_  
"Uh…" Connie started. What could he say? Which closet is Mikasa in?  
"Follow me, I need to ask Sasha, she knows." _Damn it_. Connie walked into the kitchen with Eren following behind him. He tapped on Sasha's shoulder which brought her attention. She jumped when she saw Eren was with Connie. _How can we discuss this if Eren's here_.  
"Hey, Sasha, which closet?" Connie asked through his teeth. Sasha sighed in relief.  
"Down the hall and around the right corner." She pointed down the hall.  
"Thanks" they said in unison. Connie allowed Eren to go ahead, as Sasha slipped Connie the key.

Mikasa could hear footsteps coming down the hall and picked her head up. She hear the door unlock and got ready to charge. She heard Connie saying something but it was muffled by the door. As soon as she saw the light of the open door she closed her eyes and charged. She didn't care if she'd hit the wall, she wanted to get out! She felt her head hit someone and fell to the ground on top of them. Her eyes were still closed so she didn't know who. She heard Connie above them saying "Uhh…" _Wait. If I didn't land on Connie then who-_ She opened her eyes and raised her head off of his chest.  
"E-Eren? I'm so sorry" She apologized.  
"Well bye!" Connie said. He sprinted away. _Coward_  
"Dammit Mikasa! That hurt." He moaned as he rubbed his chin. She stared at him for a moment.  
"A-are you okay? I heard Connie and didn't know anyone else was with him." She explained.  
"I definitely wasn't expecting anyone to come charging out of a closet" He said. Connie and Sasha watched the from the end of the hall. "The plan failed. But whatever look at them. It's a step forward, right?" Sasha said. Connie looked at her.  
"Yea. I'll be fine."

Mikasa stared at him as he laid his head back rubbing his chin.  
"You can get off me now." He said as he began to sit up. Mikasa woke up realizing she zoned out.  
"Oh, right." She said as she stood up. She offered a hand. He reached for her hand and she pulled him up. The both looked over to Connie and Sasha.  
"Should we get them?" He asked. Their expressions went from smiling to utter terror.  
"Yes." Mikasa answered. Connie and Sasha began to run as Eren and Mikasa started to chase them. Sasha was crying again. The fear was back. They were chased outside. Jean, Armin, Historia, Levi, Hanji, everyone watched as Eren and Mikasa chased and tackled Sasha and Connie.

That night at dinner, Eren and Mikasa had been postponed from eating dinner for attacking their team mates which was completely true but was used as an excuse to have a meeting for the Eremika plan (Sasha came up with the name).  
"So is there anything to discuss regarding any plans made?" Historia asked knowing Sasha and/or Connie would answer.  
"… Don't try and lock them in a closet…" Connie said holding an ice pack to his head as he stared at the table. Jean and Historia broke out in laughter. The situation was way too funny. Levi just stared at them and was brought back memories of his old team. _They were always so happy. So childish…_ He pushed away the memories and focused on eating his dinner. He sat back and watched the show.  
-

2 chapters in one night, you guys are lucky! Well, I have to get up early tomorrow so night! Please review! I wanna hear your opinions!


	3. Chapter 3

Later that night, everyone had eaten and a new plan was being executed. Nobody knew the plan except Levi. He thought it up on his own and gave everyone random orders. Nobody really understood how they connected to the plan, but you have to follow orders. He took this into his own hands.

Eren and Mikasa had begun to get up but were stopped before they could reach anywhere.  
"Eren. Mikasa. I have a chore for you guys before you go to sleep. Go outside and get the remainder of the fire wood. It looks like it's going to rain and soggy wood is no use." He told them. "Everyone else, you can go." Everyone left the room silently without a question asked. Historia slowed as she entered the hall and looked back. She could have sworn she saw Levi smirk as Eren and Mikasa stepped outside. A breeze brushed them sending chills up their spines. The air was becoming damp and Eren noticed the clouds forming above their heads.  
"I guess it actually is going to rain." He said looking over to the tree where the wood rested. "Let's just get this over with."  
Levi stood up from his chair as they ran to the tree. Historia was peeking from around the corner. _What are you going to do, Levi?_ She watched him in anxiety as he moved to the door. She could see Eren and Mikasa reach the tree as rain began to pour from the sky. Levi closed the door and locked it.  
"What are you doing?" Historia said as she walked out from behind the wall.  
"My plan." Levi responded. He walked over to the window and closed the shades.  
"Isn't that a bit cruel. Even for you. It's freezing outside, plus it's raining!" She protested.  
"Which is why it will work out. Just trust me." He glared at her. She stood frozen. She was confused.  
"Think about it, you'll understand." He turned out the dining light and walked to the hall.  
"Don't worry about it" he said as he passed her. He stood next to her waiting for a response. She stared at the closed shade. _They'll be fine. They have each other._  
"…okay" she turned around and went to her room.

Eren kneeled to pick up what was left of the chopped wood. It was freezing outside. He felt a couple drops hit his head and run down his face.  
"Shit, it's starting to rain." He said as the drizzle turned to a downpour. They stayed under the tree as a light shelter.  
"What now?" Mikasa asked with the wood piled in her arms. Eren really didn't feel like putting up with Levi for getting to wood wet. Without thinking he handed Mikasa his wood and took off his coat. Mikasa exhaled deeply as the weight was added to her load. Eren shivered as he held his coat above Mikasa's head.  
"What are you-"  
"Just run." They ran from the tree to the front porch. Eren could feel the heavy rain drops strike his coat like bullets as they hustled along the wet grass. Though Mikasa had a heavy load, she managed a steady pace. As they reached the door Mikasa dropped the wood onto the porch. Eren dropped his arms with a big huff. He was soaked along with his jacket. Mikasa tried to turn the knob to open the door. To her surprise, the handle wouldn't budged. She tried twisting it repeatedly until she finally gave in.  
"It's locked." she sighed.  
"What?" He said, his arms wrapped around him as he shivered. Mikasa turned noticing his chill instantly.  
"Eren, you're freezing." She said shaking her own coat off and wrapping it around him.  
"I'll be fine, check the windows." He said pushing the jacket back to her. She dropped the jacket and rushed to the windows. She sighed heavily realizing they were all locked and the blinds were closed. She tried knocking on a few, but nobody answered. She ran out through the rain knocking on the rest of the windows. Nothing.  
Eren was wringing out his coat as he saw Mikasa come around the corner back onto the porch. She was drenched.  
"Nothing" She said with a sigh.  
"Mikasa, there was no need to run around the house." Eren said as he threw her jacket around her. Another breeze blew past them sending more chills through them. It was freezing outside, and being soaked didn't help at all.  
"I guess we're stuck out here… Come here." He said wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him.  
"Wh-What are you doing?" She asked, her face slightly burning.  
"Trying to keep you warm. No need for both of us to get sick." He said sliding down against the wall. They sat against the wall, watching the rain pour. Mikasa took off her jacket and pulled it over the both of them to serve as a blanket.  
"Well, I'm not letting you get sick either." She said sinking into him. They yawned and let themselves fall into a cold sleep.

Next morning, Eren was woken by a flick to the forehead. The light was bright enough to blind him as he tried opening his eyes. He blinked until his eyes adjusted to see Levi squatted next to him. Eren tried closing his eyes again, _a few more minutes wouldn't hurt._  
"Hey, Sleeping Beauties, get up. You still have work you know." Levi said starting to stand. His planned had worked well, but they still had duties to fulfill. Eren moaned as he reopened his eyes. He looked up at Levi.  
"Don't take too long. Wake her up too." Levi said motioning to Mikasa. Her head lay on Eren's shoulder, peacefully asleep, taking short, soft breaths. She looked so peaceful, he didn't want to disturb her. But orders were orders. He put his hand on her shoulder.  
"Hey, Mikasa." Eren said softly, shaking her slightly. Within seconds her gray eyes had begun to show as she slowly sat herself up. She rubbed her eyes and raised her arms to stretch. The jacket fell to her lap as she stretched. She looked over to Eren and Levi.  
"Morning." She said in a tired voice.  
"Get to work." Levi said, and he was gone within an instant.

As Eren and Mikasa stood up they noticed they weren't alone. Almost everyone was standing out in front of the porch. They were staring, waiting for them to wake up. Eren reached down to grab his jacket off the ground. It was still a bit damp. Eren and Mikasa ignored the others as they walked into the house. They lay their wet clothes out to dry and changed into dry working clothes. Then they remembered the wood was still outside. They burst out of their rooms at the same time and sprinted to the door. To their surprise the wood was gone. Already inside the house.  
"Oh, so they lock us out and take the wood in while we're asleep. Cold." Eren said looking at the wood pile in the house.

They went outside into the sun, where it was now warm. A relief from the cold night. Today was a training day. They had to stay active even though they were in hiding. The first task was 10 laps around the field that surrounded the house. Merely child's play compared to the training they did when they were Trainees. "Thanks for letting us in last night. It was freezing." Eren said as he passed by his fellow teammates. Some made faint smiles while others scratched their heads. Mikasa passed by giving them what seemed like a death glare. She didn't mean to do that, she just wasn't too happy, that's all.

After their running they got the afternoon for some rest. Historia pulled Levi aside while everyone was seated at the table during leisure time.  
"So, how'd your plan turn out?" She asked curious as to what happened.  
"It worked just fine. But this is all I'll contribute to the Plan itself."  
"You know they're not happy with us because we didn't let them in. We were following your orders to ignore it, but now they're just plain pissed." She grunted. Ymir had taught her a thing or two on speaking her mind.  
"It was only one night in the cold. They'll get over this pretty quickly." Levi stated, then walked away.  
"Why do you always do that." She said to herself. As always he had to have the last word. She returned tot he table and saw Eren and Mikasa actually talking to everyone. _Maybe Levi was right_.  
"You know I am." Levi said pretty much reading her mind. She was so predictable. They decided to try making another plan that night after dinner. Levi would put Eren and Mikasa on dish duty so they could discuss the Plan.  
-


	4. Chapter 4

"I've already set one up." Jean said at heir meeting. In the other room you could hear the faint clanking of dishes being washed. Everyone else sat at the table now staring at Jean, waiting for an explanation. He hadn't contributed to the Plan once, up until now.  
"Actually, Armin helped me set it up, but, you know, I came up with it." Jean ranted. Armin sat quietly in his chair. He already knew Jean's plan and was trying to think of other things to do instead of this one. These plans kept getting worse and worse. They've only managed to hurt and freeze his two friends so far, and Jean's plan was pretty harmless, but may be a bit too much. There wasn't much they could do now though. The whole thing was already set up.  
"We locked their bedroom doors." Jean said his arms crossed and chin up. He was pleased with his plan, he thought it was genius. He pulled the keys from his pocket and held them out in front of him for all to see.  
"I figure since locks have come in handy so much with these plans, why not use more?" He set the keys on the table.  
"Where'd you get those keys?" Levi asked glaring at Jean. Jean's smirk faded but he managed to keep a slight smile.  
"The office…" He responded. Levi sat back shaking his head.  
"Whatever, I'll let it slide for now." He slid his hand across the wooden surface and grabbed the keys, slipping them into his pocket.  
"Go on." He added.  
"… Uh… okay. Well I think that they'd just have to share the empty room at the end of the hall with the queen sized bed." Everyone stared at him. Some thought it was pushing them a bit far. Sharing a bed is pretty… awkward at their age. Of course Eren and Mikasa have shared a bed before, but that was 6 years ago. Everyone was silent. You could still hear the dishes clanking in the other room.

"Isn't that a bit… much?" Historia said at the end of the table.  
"Of course I thought about that at first. That's why I asked Armin before I actually did anything." Jean defended. All eyes went to Armin. He noticed their gaze and sat silent for a moment. How much more could he tell them before this got any worse?  
"Well… They did share a bed a long time ago, so it might still be okay now." He mumbled. It was quiet but everyone had heard him. He's been regretting saying anything since this all started. But now that it has begun, he couldn't stop it. Everything about their relationship, that he knew, had been spilled out for everyone to take in. But he did agree on one thing. Eren and Mikasa DID have feelings for each other. They just haven't realized it yet. So Armin figured that all they needed was a push. And that's why he was actually going through with all this.  
"Okay, that works… Now, how do we tell them?" Connie asked. A good point brought up. Whoever told them would have to face awkwardness beyond what they've experienced. Then, there was a silence. No noise at all. What was bad about this was… they couldn't hear the dishes. The clanking of the plates had stopped, and everyone had noticed. Everyone watched as Eren and Mikasa stepped into the dining room and reclaimed their seats. Noticing the eyes in all directions staring at them they started to feel a bit uncomfortable.  
"What happened?" Eren asked. Levi was the only person enjoying all this. He just sat back and watched everyone's faces flush. Silence was all to be heard as everyone sat awkwardly at the table. It was broken by the sound of Sasha pulling her chair out and sprinting to her room. The others soon followed in the same pattern. All to their rooms. Eren and Mikasa stood up to leave too but were stopped by Levi. In their own rooms, everyone pressed their ears to their doors, trying to listen in on the conversation.  
"So you two are going to have to share the room at the end of the hall tonight." Levi motioned to the open room.  
"Why?" Mikasa asked.  
"Because Jean was being a dumb ass and locked your rooms from the inside."  
"Hey!" Jean yelled from behind his door. They ignored him and continued.  
"Anyway, there's only one bed so you'll have to share." Levi raised his hand and pointed at them switching from one to the other.  
"Boundaries. Got it?" There were a few chuckles from behind the closed doors. Eren and Mikasa stood there confused as Levi walked away to his office. They stayed in an awkward silence for a moment. They had heard the chuckles. They figured out what Levi had meant by "boundaries" and they flushed. They glanced at each other then back to the ground.  
"O-okay…" Eren said as he turned around and started towards the open room. Mikasa followed behind him in silence staring at the ground as she walked.  
"S-so… which side do you want…?" She asked bothered by the awkward silence.  
"Does it matter?" Eren said his cheeks turning a shady red. They continued down the hall. Mikasa caught up next to him and they were now walking side by side. He noticed red dripping down her left arm and in his head he felt an alarm go off.  
"Mikasa, you're bleeding!" He said as the blood reached the palm of her hand. She felt the liquid running down her arm and pulled it up to get a better look. She noticed a large cut across her arm gushing out blood.  
"Oh God." She turned and went to the sink and put some water on her arm. Eren went into Levi's office and grabbed the medical kit. He found some binding and brought it out to Mikasa by the sink. As he walked up to her, he noticed the look on her face. She was staring into the sink if a ghost were popping it's head through the drain. Once he was next to her saw what she was staring at. A knife.

"Mikasa? Hey, you okay?" He said moving the knife to the pile of clean dishes. He grabbed her arm and started wrapping the fabric around her wound. He knew she had this thing about knives and he knew exactly why. He wrapped the last layer and used a safety pin to hold the bindings.  
"Okay, let's go to sleep now." He said packing the bindings back into the medical kit.  
"Yea." Mikasa said rubbing her wounded arm. They walked into the room and closed the door. It was awkward enough sharing a bed, but having people peek in on them, no, that would make it insanely awkward. Mikasa folded the covers over and entered the bed pulling the sheets over herself. Eren slowly did the same. They stayed near the edges of the bed. Then they soon drifted off staring into the dark.

Mikasa tossed and turned as her dreams shifted into nightmares. A bloody knife falling before her eyes. Strange men taking her life away. Blood staining the floors of her home. The familiar scream of a woman saying words that can't be heard. Suddenly she felt like she was falling. Falling into black nothingness, a light fading before her eyes as it became distant. As soon as the light became nonexistent, Mikasa felt a strike of pain course through her. Her eyes snapped opened. She covered her mouth as she shot of the bed, preventing a monstrous shriek from escaping her lips. She held her hand to her mouth for a moment then let it fall to her lap. Her forehead was moist from sweat. She wiped it away and sat with her legs crossed. She glanced over her shoulder to see Eren staring at her.  
"You okay?" he asked. She nodded.  
"Did you have a nightmare?" She dropped her head and nodded. She used to get nightmares constantly after she moved into his house. And it wasn't multiple nightmares, it was the same one every night. She was pretty much reliving that one day over and over again. Tonight, they finally returned after 6 years.  
"Mikasa." Eren said sitting up.  
"You don't have to hold back you know. It's okay to cry sometimes." He said laying her back down to the pillow. Her face towards him. She had her scarf around her neck still and she pulled over her mouth. She wanted to stay strong. But she also wanted to cry so badly.  
"It's okay. Just let it out, this one time." He watched her facial expressions change. She released the scarf from her hand and left it slide back to her neck. She pulled herself into his chest and started to sob. She couldn't hold it in anymore. Eren pulled the covers over them and wrapped his arm around Mikasa, his other hand on her head. Just as he did when they were 9.  
"Why… am I forced… to watch them die…" She said through her stuttered breaths. She curled up into him and let her sobs soften. Eren held her in his chest, he knew that at this moment, this strong girl was fragile for once.

The room over, Connie lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, he was too bored. He didn't feel like getting up though. He thought about what could be going on with Eren and Mikasa at the moment. And as soon he thought this, he heard sobs coming from the other side of the wall. The walls were pretty thin which made it easy to hear anyone's conversations. But, this was Mikasa's crying. He hadn't heard her cry since she found Eren that one day in Trost. What could she be crying about?

Morning came bringing soft rays of light through the windows. Enough to peek through the thick curtains and create an orange glow throughout the room. There was movement throughout the house as everyone began their morning routines. Eren and Mikasa's door untouched. Their room was silent, but you could hear everything through those walls. The curtain shuffled a little creating a gap of bright light shining onto the single bed. A loud knock hit their door.  
"Get up." Levi's voice was loud as always as it went through the room. There was no response. He heard a slight shuffling, then silence once again. He knocked harder.  
"Don't make me come in." His team stood in the hall eager for him to open that door. They knew what awaited him and wanted to see it all. When there was silence once again he pushed through the door.  
"I said get up." Eren and Mikasa lay in the bed still asleep, Mikasa in Eren's arms with the blankets pulled over them, same as when they fell asleep. Levi looked at them in surprise. He scratched his head and sighed looking towards the window. He walked over to the curtains and opened them wide. Letting the light flood in. The blinding light woke them up almost immediately. Eren moaned covering his eyes. They sat up out of their bed and watched Levi walk back to the door.  
"I said boundaries." he said then closed the door behind him. Eren and Mikasa sat there half asleep. Oblivious to what he had just said they got up and went to their rooms. Now unlocked thanks to Levi who didn't bother unlocking them until morning. Eren closed his door, changed out of his clothes he had slept in and carelessly threw on whatever clean clothes he could find. He walked out the door and walked to the dining room for breakfast. Everyone was already seated and were more talkative than usual. Eren took his seat. Mikasa appeared from the hall and took her place next to Eren. As lively as everyone was, they seemed tired as well as Eren and Mikasa.

They managed halfway through breakfast before someone finally asked.  
"So, how was last night?" Sasha asked from across the table. Everyone's attention turned to the conversation.  
"It was okay." Eren responded ripping off a piece of bread then popping it into his mouth.  
"Are you sure? Because I heard crying coming from your room." Connie said stating what he had heard. Eren glanced at Mikasa, she was looking down, trying to ignore Connie.  
"It's okay, everything's fine now." Eren said trying to avoid further conversation. Connie would't except that answer.  
"But… it was Mikasa I heard crying." He said. This made everyone more interested as to what all looked at Eren and Mikasa, waiting for someone to talk.  
"Well, yes, but like I said, everything's okay now." Eren said as he finished what was on his plate. Connie wanted an explanation, he wanted answers. Mikasa doesn't just randomly cry, and everyone knew that. Connie looked over to Mikasa. Her head hang low and he noticed a little bloody binding around her arm.  
"Hey, Mikasa." He said making her raise her head. He pointed to her arm.  
"What happened?" She lifted her arm and remembered the cut.  
"Oh… I accidentally cut myself with a knife while doing the dishes." It was partially telling the truth. What actually happened was when she picked up that knife from the sink, she stared at it as she was reminded of that day. She held it in her hand with her other holding the cloth, ready to dry it. The blade was familiar as she held it ready to strike her opponent. Eren wasn't paying attention as the knife slipped through her hand and sliced her arm. She didn't notice the sting of the blade as it drew a line through her skin, in fact she wasn't even aware she had dropped the knife. Her mind was being rushed with memories. Eren shook her shoulder waking her.  
"… Hey, Mikasa…" Connie's voice echoed. She had zoned out. There was complete silence with all attention on her as she stared off. She lifted her head again.  
"Sorry… I kind of spaced out for a second there…" She answered. She could feel all the eyes on her. They knew she wasn't telling them something, and that Eren was a part of it.  
"If you don't mind my asking…" All eyes turned to Historia as she spoke.  
"Could you tell us… what happened in your past?" Eren and Mikasa's eyes widened. Everyone turned back to them. Mikasa could feel her heart sink a little. She had never spoken about that day, and the Jeager family hadn't brought it up once knowing she would be uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat. They were her comrades and her friends, she and Eren had left Armin in the dark for so long, she didn't want to have to do the same with all of her other friends. Eren looked at Mikasa noticing her uncomfortable expression.  
"You don't have to-"  
"No…" Eren was shocked. He never brought it up, knowing it would make her uncomfortable.  
"They have the right to know…" She said sitting up. Everyone moved to the edges of their seats so they could absorb every detail. They had wondered about this for a long time and were way more fascinated than they were about the scarf.  
"… about what happened."

Well this was a fun chapter to write! I was trying to add some kind of drama since the beginning, and here's what I got! Ever tried strawberry Pocky? It's amazing! Next chapter coming shortly! Review!


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone sat close to the table, leaning in to listen to the story of Mikasa's and Eren's past. They sat in their chairs eager to hear. Even Levi was interested enough to lean in. Eren didn't really want her to tell them considering these memories were what hurt her. He understood why she wanted to tell them, but he didn't… He didn't want her hurting herself… _Maybe telling them will actually be good for her._  
"Okay. So 6 years ago, a year before the fall of Wall Maria…" She began.  
"…I lived in the mountains with my parents. There weren't many kids my age that lived around there so my mom always kept me company. On this day, I remember she was teaching me needle point while my dad was doing the dishes.  
We were expecting a visit from Dr. Jeager and he was going to be there any minute. I heard a knock on the door and my dad went to answer it expecting Dr. Jeager to be there. My mom and I watched him open the door. I could hear a man's voice as my dad stood motionless in the doorway. Then… he fell to the ground… dead… The man was holding a knife with my father's blood on it. He asked us to pardon his intrusion as 2 more men walked through the door. My mom and I stood up from the table. She grabbed the scissors and attacked the man. She tried yelling something to me but I couldn't hear anything. I watched the man stab her and her fall to the ground reaching out to me. As she bled out the man came after me. He told me not to make it difficult for him, but I couldn't even move. I was so scared.  
He bound my hands behind my back and brought me to a room in the back of the house where he threw me to the ground and hit my head knocking me out.

When I finally regained consciousness, I could hear them discussing their plans for me. They said they were going to sell me as a sex slave to rich perverts in Sina. They said I was worth a lot because I was one of the last decedents of the few people who escaped out of the place Asia. One of the men left the room leaving the other two to watch over me. I remember feeling so helpless, like my entire life had been taken from me in those few hours. I looked around for something, anything that could help me escape. I knew nothing was there, I knew I wouldn't escape.  
Then, I saw the door open a little. I thought the man had returned but instead… it was Eren…"

She was about to speak again when suddenly, someone burst through the door. The man looked directly at Corporal Levi and announced his name, squad, and reason. He had come to deliver a message. Through the window you could see the rest of his squad getting off of their horses.  
"A hoard of titans has been spotted approaching from the southwest of Rose. They surely destroyed the mountain-side towns, and are advancing quick. You have all been asked to go to combat, preventing them from a further advantage. Commander Erwin's orders." He made saluted, then left meeting back with his team outside. Squad Levi sat at the table silent. They had to go into combat now? Levi stood and spoke.  
"Well, you heard him. Go get your gear." Then went to his own room to prepare as well. It took a few moments for everyone to comprehend what had just happened. 2 then 3 then 4 left the table. Mikasa stood to leave as well. Eren grabbed her arm.  
"Mikasa, you didn't have to tell them." Her head was down. She shook her arm out of his grip.  
"I'm not done yet." She walked back to her room leaving Eren. He sighed then went to his own room. He knew telling them wouldn't make a difference for anything and he was sure Mikasa knew that as well. So why… why did this matter so much to her…? He knew that every word that came out of her mouth moments ago, brought her pain. So why…?  
"Why are you being so stubborn…" He mumbled to himself tossing his gear to the bed. She was hurting herself, and he didn't want to just stand by and watch. Unless… she was trying to let it out… Eren brought his hand to his face. He had realized, she was simply doing what he told her the night before. She was letting everything she had bottled up come out. She hadn't talked about it once which made her keep her feelings in over the years.  
Eren had everything on now. He walked out the door and met with the few others who were finished as well. He wasn't going to stop her now. He was going to let her continue. And if she couldn't, he would do it for her. He knew, she needed to let this out.

They all mounted their horses and set off southwest to the titans. Eren and Historia were ordered to the center rear of the group. Mikasa and Jean edging the borders of right and left, Armin, Sasha, and Connie in the center. Levi in front with the other group. Within an hour of riding they encountered two 8 meter class titans that were taken down easily without a problem. All swords were drawn as they continued for another 5 minutes before encountering the large hoard. It consumed mainly 6-8 meter class titans, a few 4 meter class, and one 12 meter class. It was open terrain with few trees, this would make it harder to fight using their gear. The signal was given to split the formation and expand. Eren and Historia stayed near the center with a few others surrounding them. They couldn't afford to be lost in battle, so they got backup. All went headfirst into the hoard selecting their opponents. The zip of the gear sounded as the soldiers abandoned their horses to engage in battle. Within seconds 3 titans fell to the ground dead. All three 6 and 7 meter class. The soldiers swung around the titans cutting deep into the nape of their necks. Blood flew everywhere you could see. Everyone was engaged in their own battles. Eren took out a two 8 meter class and one four meter class. Hisotria killed three more 4 meter class. Jean and Armin worked on the right end of the hoard killing two more 8 meter class and two 7 meter class. No deaths yet. Sasha and Connie took out the last of the 4 meters class and began working on the 6-8 meter class titans.  
Mikasa drew her blades through the nape killing another 7 meter class. She could see the 12 meter class running away from the hoard. It was an abnormal. She looked back to her comrades. Someone from the outside group fell to the ground getting crushed. One death. Everyone seemed to be fighting their own battles, nobody noticing the abnormal. She decided to take this one for herself. She abandoned the dead 7 meter class titan and went after the abnormal. She mounted her horse and chased the titan. It was very fast, she could barely keep up. As she neared the feet she switched to her 3D maneuver gear and ran up the back of the titan. It slowed as she got near the neck. The titan swung its arms attempting to hit Mikasa. She dodged the attacks swinging her swords at the titans hands to prevent them from grabbing her. She swung around the titan and aimed straight for the nape. She let her swords glide through the skin, making a clean cut. Before the abnormal could fall it's arm swung around knocking Mikasa off it's neck and sending her through the air. The titan fell to the ground and started to deteriorate. It was dead. She had nowhere to latch onto now, all the titans were distant. She knew she would fall to the ground. She pressed her gas trying to soften her landing. No luck. It was gone. The last huff of the gas released. Mikasa looked to the ground. She was gone for sure. All she could do now was brace for impact. She covered her head and faced to the sky as she waited to hit the ground. She buried her face into her scarf.  
"I'm sorry" She said right before making contact with the ground.

Levi finished off the last titan and landed on the ground. He met up with everyone else. Eren looked around the group nervously noticing Mikasa's absence. Everyone was chatty, talking about how may kills the got. Levi noticed that she wasn't in the group also. He walked to the group and made them shut up.  
"Where's Ackerman?" He asked. People glanced at one another shaking their heads and shrugging. They looked around the group for the girl with black hair. When they realized her absence as well, they all got a bit worried. Eren looked in the distance noticing some steam. 'Is that… steam from a titan?' He noticed a horse running in their direction. It was Mikasa's. He then realized it was the 12 meter class. He had completely forgotten it was in the hoard. He then knew, and an alarm went off in his head again. He didn't say a word to his comrades. He simply got onto his horse and ran towards the steam. Everyone watched him with confusion crossing their minds.  
"Hey! Jeager!" Levi yelled. Though he knew he couldn't hear him.

Eren rode at full speed towards the steam. He passed Mikasa's horse. No rider, just as he thought. She was over there and he knew it. He passed by the titan. It was almost completely deteriorated. He looked ahead and saw a figure laying on the ground. He stopped his horse and ran to Mikasa. He knelt down and turned her upright. His mind panicked. He put his hands to his head trying to figure out what to do. She had a streak of blood dripping down her face, her uniform tattered and torn. Her gear had fallen off to her feet destroyed.  
"Mikasa!" He yelled. He could feel hot tears forming in his eyes. She wouldn't respond.  
"Mikasa, wake up please!" He lifted her upper body and wrapped his arms around her. The tears rolled down his face as he hugged her. He couldn't lose her. She was his family. He slightly squeezed her limp body. Then, he felt her chest move up and down. He released her from his hug but held her upright. He watched her chest move up and down again. She was breathing. She was alive! He scooped her into his arms and rode back to the group. He held Mikasa tight as to not let her fall. Everyone watched as he approached them on his horse. He carried Mikasa in his arms bridal-style. Their eyes widened. He found her.  
"She's unconscious." He said putting everyone at ease.  
"She killed the 12 meter class over there." He pointed to the steaming remains that were practically gone.  
"Her gear was broken." He said looking back to her face.  
"She never should have pursued the titan alone." Levi said. It was one of the top rules in fighting. Never work alone.  
"Let's get her out of here. She may be okay now, but by the look of her condition. She's going to need some help." Levi said mounting his own horse. Everyone got onto their horses as well. Armin grabbed Mikasa's horse and took it with his. Eren got onto his horse, grasped Mikasa tight, and followed everyone else back to the house.  
-

Here's chapter 5. I really tried to make this more dramatic. How did I do? I started writing chapter 6 so it should be out soon! Don't forget to review! (I have a large fuzzy hat) POCKYYYY!


	6. Chapter 6

What was left of the outside squad had left to the towns on the mountainside. They left as soon as the last titan fell into the hands of Levi. They had lost one of their 4 men, which was miraculous. It was the least amount of deaths they had ever had in a battle. They reached the first town, or what was left of it. More than half of the buildings were crumbled and crushed. Some maintained their form but a majority were gone. The men got off their horses and searched the town for survivors. The man who had alerted Squad Levi, Kana, commanded his group to spread out. They kept their weapons drawn in case any titans had stayed behind. They searched the still-standing houses finding nobody. Kana checked a small home with a ranch of startled horses running amuck. When he looked inside the house, he saw a small boy sitting in the corner of a bedroom.  
"… mom… what are you?… Where'd you go…? Why'd you leave…" The boy said to himself. He didn't notice the man come in. Kana slowly walked to the boy, trying not to startle him.  
"Hey… are you okay?" He asked kneeling to the boy. The boy simply looked up at Kana and stared at his face.  
"W-who are you? Why are you in my house?" The boy asked with his trembling voice. He was shaking with his knees pulled to his chest. Kana put his hand on the boys shoulder to keep him from shaking.  
"Don't worry. I'm here to help." He said trying to sooth the boy. He released his knees but still shook. His eyes were wide with fear. What he had seen he had never seen before. Kana offered his hand to lend him a hand up. The boy accepted slowly standing from the corner.  
"M-my mom…" His eyes swelled with tears. He was still trembling.  
"It… it wasn't my mom…" tears rolled down his face.

Kana walked the boy outside and met with his squad. All of them empty handed. Nobody found any others. The boy was the only one.  
"There weren't any dead bodies found either." Was reported by one of the men.  
"Not a drop of blood anywhere." He added. How curious. This had happened with the last titan attack as well. Kana stored the notes in his mind for the reports later. For now, they had to make their way to the next town. Kana placed the boy on his horse and mounted it as well. They set off for the next town.

They reached the town within a short period of time. As they approached it they noticed no wrecked buildings. The town seemed completely stable. They dismounted from their horses and walked into the town. People were doing their daily works and watched as the soldiers passed by. A woman stopped Kana and the rest of the squad continued through the village.  
"Where's you find him?" She said motioning to the kid. The boy looked up to the woman and his face lit up. He ran up to her and wrapped around her waist.  
"He was in the town over. He was the only one found. You know him?" Kana asked. The woman's faced dropped.  
"He's my nephew. What do you mean he was the only one found?" She asked with anger rising in her voice.  
"Ma'am, the town was destroyed. You have no need to worry, the titans have been killed." He said trying to calm her.  
"Don't worry? My sister was in that town!" She said picking up the boy into her arms. The boy shoved his face into her shoulder.  
"Aunt Yui… she's not mommy…" He said into her shoulder. She turned her head to him.  
"W-what do you mean?" She said becoming slightly afraid of the answer.  
"It wasn't her… Mommy's not a monster…" He said. The woman's eyes widened.  
"What does he mean by this!" She yelled at Kana. He hadn't had a clue himself. He stood there in confusion.  
"I-I don't know…" He confessed. That answer didn't seem to settle with the woman. She just seemed to get angrier.  
"What does he mean?! My sister turned into one of those things?!" She pulled him by the collar.  
"Tell me what happened to my sister." She said, her tone deep. Kana sighed.  
"I wish I knew…" He said making her release her hand from his shirt. She backed away slowly, hand covering her mouth. Her sister was gone and her nephew traumatized. All was later written in the report.

Mikasa was brought back to the house and set on her bed. It's been two days since she fell unconscious. The doctor came the day earlier and diagnosed she would wake up within the next couple of days if not sooner. She had hit her head on the ground pretty hard. If she hadn't covered her head, she may have gotten paralyzed. It was a 12 meter drop to the ground. Her physical condition wasn't too great. Her upper back took the most impact with the ground, causing some damage to her lungs. She received minor scrapes and bruises on her arms and legs. It would have been worse if the gear hadn't fallen off before she landed. A deep cut was found on her forehead, the cause unknown. Possibly something on the ground as she skidded. One thing was for sure, she wasn't going anywhere for awhile.

The table was silent during dinner. Everyone only focused on their own meals and didn't say a word. Eren didn't even bother to look up from his plate as he received glances every once in awhile. The second he finished his plate, he left the table and went into Mikasa's room and sat beside her in a chair. He had done the same thing the past two nights and nobody spoke to him once about it. He put his hands in his lap and looked down. If he listened very carefully he could hear her short breaths. Her breathing had been messed with due to the damage on her lungs. The doctor said they should be okay by the time she wakes up. He tried to listen. If he could hear her breathing, he knew she was okay. There was a light knock on the door. Eren looked up as Armin walked into the room, closing the door behind him.  
"Hey" He said pulling a chair next to Eren. He sat down and looked over to Mikasa.  
"Are you okay?" He asked in concern. Eren didn't bother lifting his head.  
"I'm fine…" Armin saw through this easily. The question was rhetorical. He knew Eren was hurting. Armin lowered his head to his lap to see Eren's face.  
"She's going to be okay you know? The doctor even said so." Armin tried. He hadn't seen Eren so depressed before. He didn't really know how to handle it too well.  
"I know…" Eren answered lifting his head.  
"It's just…" Armin raised his head again to listen.  
"I've never been so scared of losing someone in my life. Even when I lost my mom. I know that sounds a bit cruel, but, it's true." He said looking back at Mikasa.  
"And I don't know why… but when I saw her lying there… in the field… my heart stopped…" He added. Armin felt a small smile form on his face. He knew exactly why. He leaned back into his chair and kept his eyes on Eren. Eren turned his head back to Armin and noticed his expression.  
"What are you so smiley about?" He asked leaning back into his chair too.  
"Oh nothing…" he said starting to stand. Eren watched him get up and walk to the door. He was confused when he had a full smile as he closed the door behind him on the way out.  
"… Eren…" he heard come from the bed. He turned around. Was she awake? When he turned to see her, her eyes were still closed. She was talking in her sleep. _Why would she say my name?_ He stayed there a moment longer watching her eyebrows furrow as she dreamed. He reached over and cupped her face in his hand. Her face relaxed. He slowly traced his thumb along the scar on her right cheek. He remembered how he had felt when he was told he tried to kill Mikasa. His hand dropped to the bed. His eyes squinted trying to push the thought away. _I tried to kill Mikasa?_ he remember himself thinking. How horrible he had felt. And he couldn't even remember attacking her. As he made his way to the door he looked back at Mikasa. One last glance before closing the door shut and walking to his room.

He fell onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. Man how he felt everything was reversed. Normally Mikasa was the one so worried about him. Always treating him as a kid or little brother. He realized how horrible it all was. How something like this had to happen to get him to think about protecting her. He had tried putting more effort into thinking about her more after their previous battle, but had a weird feeling inside himself as he did. Now that this happened, that feeling had swollen inside him. And he hadn't had a clue as to what it was. He put his hand to his head and moaned.  
"Why does everything have to be so confusing…" He turned over and stared at the wall. Lost in his own thoughts he zoned out. All he could think about was Mikasa.

Armin walked back to the dining room where everyone else had already finished their plates and were quietly talking. His light smile stood out amongst the group as he reclaimed his seat. A few looked over noticing his smile and couldn't be more confused in this situation. They wondered how he could be happy at a time like this. And as if answering them, Armin looked up from his plate and began to speak.  
"I think things are going to work out." the group stopped their side conversations and turned to him. They hadn't had a clue as to what he was talking about.  
"What do you mean?" Jean asked. Armin glanced around noticing their confused expressions.  
"The Plan… I think it will work out just fine." they looked at one another then back at Armin.  
"We're still doing that? I thought we agreed to stop for the time being." the first night after their battle they had a meeting and decided to put the Plan on hold until Mikasa was completely healed. It was Levi's order. The others had agreed including Armin, so bringing it up only two days after seemed a bit inappropriate.  
"We did, and I'm not really going against the agreement." Armin answered.  
"I have a plan and it will follow Levi's order."  
"If it's a plan then you ARE going against the agreement. You really still want to do something more even in the states Eren and Mikasa are in?" Jean said.  
"Well, yes and no…" Armin answered. Jean backed off, there was too much confusion in this conversation, nothing made sense.  
"My plan is to let them be. Let things move naturally." Armin said. Jean eased into the back of his chair. Everyone else was thinking, Armin noticed this and decided to continue. _Provide a reason._  
"I was just in Mikasa's room with Eren. He's pretty much at war with himself. In a state of confusion." He added.  
"He's going to realize it soon, so I think that it will work out on it's own. He may need a shove every now and then though." He sat back into his chair waiting for reactions. The table was silent as their thoughts processed. Armin watched as their faces changed and looked directly at him.  
"Okay. That's all." Levi said and the table was dismissed. The group left talkative to their own rooms. Some smiled while others just seemed tired. Armin walked in the back of the group and smiled.  
"Yea, this will work out just fine." He said as he walked into his room shutting the door behind him.

Oh my, I re-read most of this story and noticed all the spelling errors, im so sorry! So anyway, hope you liked this chapter. I honestly don't know when I'll finish this story, Im way too into writing it myself! Chapter 6 done, Chapter 7 soon to come! (Oh god I just rhymed) Thanks for reviewing!


	7. Chapter 7

It was morning. The sun was barely peeking through the clouds making it cool outside. An expectation of rain for sure. The squad woke up late, which had no affect on anything. It was their day off. They woke one another and went to the dining room. They had to wait longer since the food hadn't been prepared earlier that morning. Levi ordered Sasha to cook with him. As expected by almost everyone, Eren hadn't come out of his room. They were all tired and couldn't hold much of a conversation. Some hadn't even changed from the clothes they slept in. It was mostly quiet except for the sounds of pots and pans moving in the kitchen. The large slam of a door sounded through the house putting everyone to a complete silence. _Is Eren pissed off or something?_ Jean thought. They could hear fast pace footsteps coming from down the hall which rattled the whole house. They all stared down the hallway waiting for someone to show. Suddenly, Hanji burst into the dining hall insanely perky as ever.  
"Morning guys!" She shouted.  
"Hanji? Where've you been, we haven't seen you in nearly a week!" Armin said from his seat. It came as a shock to everyone. They were pretty awake now if not before.  
"Oh, I've been stuck in the office for days. But I'm finally out and about! So what's been going on lately? I heard you guys had to go out recently on a hoard. How'd it go?" Hanji asked. It was like she had just come out from under a rock. She hasn't been seen for days and hasn't had a single meal with them any of those days. It made everyone wonder how much work she was given and what kind of work. It was insane.

People gave each other nervous glances as Hanji waited with anticipation. She grabbed what was Mikasa's seat and sat at the table. She tapped her fingers on the wooden surface waiting for somebody to talk. _Just how much coffee did this woman have?_ pretty much everyone thought to themselves. Hanji, noticing the uncomfortableness in the room, glanced around the table. Something was different.  
"Where are Mikasa and Eren?" she asked. Everyone looked back to her. She had hit the nail right on the head. They all waited for one or the other to answer. Armin stood to answer since he knew nobody had the heart to say it.  
"During the attack with the hoard Mikasa got hurt really bad, she's unconscious. And Eren, he's probably still in bed. He's not taking it lightly, that's for sure." He sat back down. Hanji leaned onto the table her arms crossed.  
"And why isn't he okay? He wouldn't become depressed easily, if that's the impression I got from him." she looked at Armin right in the eye. She knew there was more to it.  
"Well… lately… we've been making plans and putting them into action for trying to get him and Mikasa together…" he smiled at the end. Hanji didn't change her expression. She was waiting for more. Armin noticed this and tried to think of more to say. Her fingers were still tapping but her face was dead serious.  
"A plan or two may not have worked out as well but, seeing as it is now, it had SOME effect…" he added. He didn't know what else he could say. Hanji loosened up a bit and sat back.  
"So you were trying to see if he likes her?" she said. It wasn't hard to piece together. It was more than obvious that Mikasa had feelings for Eren to everyone. They had tried to see if Eren had any feelings back considering he's lightened up a bit since they got to this house. And judging by their expressions now she was completely right.

She stood up from the table.  
"Okay, I'm settling this." She walked to the hallway. All of them watched trying to figure out her actions. Armin, who is naturally faster at figuring things out, stood from the table again as she went to open Eren's door.  
"Wait! Hanji! Let him be! He's not okay right now!" but it was too late. She had pushed through the door. Everyone could hear Hanji walk into the room, letting the door swing open, startling Eren awake. He fell out of bed with a large thud and noticed Hanji standing right in front of him.  
"Oh, hey Hanji. Haven't seen you in awhi- Ow! What are you doing?!" She grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him out of the room.  
"Ow ow ow ow ow, Hanji I get it! I'm up, you can let go of me!" He stumbled to his feet but could hardly keep up with Hanji's fast pace. She dragged him to the dining room and threw him into an empty chair. Eren looked at everyone at the table. They were almost as startled from this as he was.  
"Hey guys…What's up with Hanji, because she's really starting to scare me." He said as Hanji looked at him in the eye an arms length away from his face. He rubbed his shoulder sinking into his seat a bit. She backed away and sat back down in her previous seat.  
"So, Eren… How have you been lately?" She asked. Was she seriously giving him a therapy session? And to add to that, with everyone else on his squad? He sat up raising an eyebrow.  
"I've been fine. Why are you asking? You're a scientist, not a therapist."  
"Well, I am a scientist, and I study titans. And since you are technically a titan, I can ask you these questions if I want to."  
"Can't argue with that." He said disappointed. It's not like he asked to be a titan. And now because of it, he has to talk with Miss Therapist Hanji. _Great_.  
"So, tell me… How do you feel about Mikasa?" Everyone's eyes widen and jaws dropped. Eren completely flushed. _Is she serious?_ All eyes were on him waiting for him to answer. He could hear his heart beating through his chest. How could he respond to that?  
"Uh… Well I'm not too crazy that she's hurt if that's what you mean." He couldn't think straight. They were going to ask him again. What would he do then. He'd have nothing left to say, because he doesn't know himself.  
"It's not what I meant, and I think you know exactly what I do mean." Hanji said leaning towards him. Beckoning him to answer. He felt his face starting to burn. He had nothing he could say. All he could do was say the truth. He relaxed and let out a sigh.  
"Honestly… I have no idea…" He got up and left the table again. His face was a deep red as he walked away. "Damn you…" he mumbled to himself.  
Everyone realized, Armin was right with what he said last night. He WAS confused. At least they knew he had some kind of feelings for her and they could let him work off of that.

"Huh, I knew it." Hanji sat back in the seat. She had a smile on her face again. She was satisfied with herself. Meanwhile everyone else didn't know what to think. Levi and Sasha came into the dining room holding all the food for breakfast and set it on the table. Sasha looked over noticing Hanji and smiled.  
"Hey, Hanji. Where've you been?" She asked handing out the plates.  
"Ah, just working." She was the only one actually responding. All the others had gazed off.  
"Hey guys…" Sasha noticed their expressions. She narrowed her eyebrows.  
"What happened?" She asked. Connie looked up and grinned.  
"I'll tell you later."

"Really?" Sasha whispered back to Connie. It was night and everyone had gotten leisure time after dinner so they were all in the living room. They hadn't been in there very often because it seemed they always had some kind of chore or were training. They had a fire going and left the lights off so they could settle down for the night. Eren had ignored everyone throughout lunch and dinner and locked himself in his room the rest of the time. Which included right now. He simply lay on his bed and stair at the ceiling. The events from this morning got him thinking just as he had finally stopped. _Do I like her?_ The question lingered in his thoughts all day. _Why else would I feel like this?_ He widened his eyes. Is that what this feeling was? This whole time? He remembered feeling this the first time he met her. Except, then, he just knew he needed to save her. But isn't that how he felt now too? Also, then, the situation was much more dire. There was no guarantee either of them would survive. And now, he knows that she's going to be okay. Maybe if she could just finish the story, finish telling them, she'd be better even after her physical wounds are gone. But there was no telling how long it would be before she woke up. Didn't he say even if she couldn't he would for her? He realized how dumb that was. She needed to be the one to let it out, not him.

He finally decided to get up and join the others for what was left of the night. He brushed his fingers through his hair and left his room to join them. He felt a little awkward walking into the room, but soon didn't as he sat with everyone else. He sat on the floor next to Armin who welcomed him with a friendly smile.  
"Hey Eren, nice to see you out for a little while." Hanji said from the couch where she sat with Sasha and Connie.  
"Eh, it was boring sitting in my room alone." He smiled. They continued with their previous conversation and Eren listened in.  
"Hey Hanji, what exactly have you been working on that took so long?" Armin asked.  
"I don't even know anymore. I just want it all out of my head for now. It was so annoying."  
"Well you seemed pretty happy this morning. Did you drink a gallon of coffee or something?"  
"Hey, that's how you stay awake while doing your work." There was some laughter in the throughout the room.  
"I'm serious! Work can take all night if it has to!" They continued laughing. Even Eren. It was the first he'd laughed in days and honestly, everyone was happy to see him lightening up.  
"Whatever. Anybody else got something they want to talk about?" Hanji tried changing the subject. There were some shrugs and some shook their heads.  
"Come on, some more stuff must have happened the past couple days I've been in the office." What else was there to talk about? Nothing else could really be said without making someone uncomfortable. Hanji looked around for someone to start talking.  
"How about stories?" She suggested. Some went into deep thought. Reaching into their minds trying to find a story to tell. Others waited for them to find the stories, not bothering to think. Eren thought about a story as well. He cancelled out one after the other hoping to find one before someone else could start their own. He scratched his head. He had one but he wasn't sure if he really wanted to tell it. He looked around. Most of the group had already given up on thinking of one. Though Hanji and Armin seemed pretty deep in thought still.  
"I've got nothing." Armin said next to him. 'No, please Hanji' He was really praying for Hanji to have something. If not, he may be asked if he had one. Of course he could lie, but that would just end their night, and he was having fun. All waited for Hanji to answer. She put her hand to her head trying to think. Her eyebrows furrowed and she stared at the fire. She could feel the heat rising from the flames even from the distance she was at. Her mind ran through multiple thoughts, digging for a good story.  
"Hmmmm…" She said staring into the flames. _Come on Hanji, you can do this _Eren thought to himself. He tried thinking of more stories, but all he knew were the fairy tales his mom told him when he was little, and he doubted anyone would want to listen to those. Ugh, he had to have something else. He didn't want the night to end just yet. He may just have to go with the one story he knew. It was actually a bit funny when he thought about it.  
Hanji dropped her hand to her lap and looked back at all the others.  
"I can't think straight." everyone sighed. She looked over to Eren who seemed to not be paying attention.  
"Hey, Eren" He looked back at Hanji.  
"Do you have a story?" She asked.  
"Well, yea."  
"Why didn't you say before?"  
"I wasn't sure if I was going to tell it, it's not exactly the kind of story you'd expect from me."  
"Oh come on. Any story is okay right now. Tell us." All looked over to Eren ready to listen.  
"Uh… okay." He sat up against the wall and prepared to speak.  
"So when I was younger, I was in the same kind of situation as right now. Mikasa had just moved in with us and she slept for days. Of course I understood, I mean, she had just lost her parents. But back then I was a bit delusional. My house only had 2 bedrooms so Mikasa and I shared. So the first morning when she didn't wake up I thought that maybe she was just too upset to wake up. But when she didn't wake up the day after I started to think something was wrong. I told my dad that something was wrong with her and he said that it was completely normal. I had to believe him because I was fully aware that he was a doctor. He told me she was going to wake up soon so I waited. I sat next to her on our bed waiting for her to wake up. Hours passed by and she hadn't even moved once. That's when I started to think she might have been dead and panicked. I remembered a story my mom had told me when I was even smaller about something like this. I'm sure most of you know it. So I thought that if I kissed her she would wake up. I kind of just sat there staring for awhile. I'd seen people kiss before, so I didn't understand what was so hard about it. I leaned over her staring at her face then I kissed her on the cheek. I hovered over expecting her eyes to snap open and when they didn't, I thought that maybe it didn't work, or I was doing something wrong. Then I saw her eyes slowly open and look directly at me. I was kind of still hovering over her so I panicked trying to back away but ended up falling off the bed."  
"I remember that. You told me about it a long time ago. You had a bump on your head for like a week." Armin said smiling at the memories.  
"Shut up" Eren said slightly burning. He turned back to the others seeing that Jean had dosed off while Connie and Sasha were leaned in absorbing every last detail of his story. Hanji was leaning against the arm of the chair with a smile planted on her face and Historia was leaned up against the wall ready to fall asleep.

The fire was nearly burned out and the last burning scent roamed throughout the house. As the fire faded so did the light causing the group to fade as well. Connie stood and began walking out of the room. He hit Jean as he passed by waking him from what seemed like a pretty peaceful sleep. Jean stood catching up with Connie and gave him a friendly hit in the shoulder letting out a quiet laugh. Sasha grabbed Historia from the wall guiding her half-asleep body to their rooms. Historia wobbled as she walked hitting, the corner (and every piece of furniture in her path) as they turned down the hall. Hanji slowly stood as well making her way to her room.  
"I liked your story, Eren. It was cute." she said rounding the same corner as everyone else. Eren stood as well and gave Armin a hand up. They walked down the hall together to their rooms. Eren slowed as he passed Mikasa's closed door then continued his steady pace from before reaching his room. He released a big huff as he fell onto his bed pulling the covers over him. He ran his mind over the memory he had just shared. Replaying the scenes that only he and Mikasa would be able to see. No, not even that. Only he could see them as they really were. Was it really a coincidence that she woke up at that moment?  
"No. Don't be stupid." He mumbled to himself shutting his eyes trying to fall asleep, which his mind might have let him do.

I don't understand why this took so long to write but here you go. Merry Christmas! Chapter 7 done, now it's time for Chapter 8. Expect it soon!


	8. Chapter 8

A cool draft shifted through Eren's room sending a chill up his spine. He slowly opened his eyes trying to remember where he was. The room was dark except for the hint of moonlight peeking through the partially opened window that brought through the crisp morning air. It must have been really early. Maybe less than an hour before the sunrise that was beginning to show on the horizon. He looked around the room recognizing the outline of the few pieces of furniture in his room. He looked over to see the red scarf on his nightstand, neatly folded. He had washed out the few blood stains and dirt caught in the fabric carefully trying not to tear the old scarf. He reached over and grabbed the scarf, bringing it towards him. He held the scarf in his two hands. He brought it to his face breathing in the familiar scent. He closed his eyes keeping the scarf in his face and turned over in his bed bringing his knees to his chest. It smelled like home. Somewhere he was sure he must see again. Shiganshina. The ground stained with the blood of people he once knew. Stained with the horrors. But also caressed the calm memories of before. The 100 years of peace. The times when he could still dream.

He sat up refolding the scarf and placed it on his lap. He crossed his legs and brought his hand to his face rubbing his eyes. He let out a slight yawn then dropped his hand back to his lap. Looking back down at the scarf he let his fingers smooth over the worn fabric. To think Mikasa had been wearing it all these years, it brought a warmness to his heart. The warm shutting out the chill coming through the window. He held the scarf to his chest releasing one hand as he stood from his bed. He walked over and closed the window noticing the sun partially peeking on the horizon. He gaped at the beautiful sight clenching the scarf in his left hand against his chest. The sky was multiple shades of blue with some yellow now where the sky touches the land. It looked as if the sky had caught the land on fire. That was the thing about something beautiful, it can't always be seen that way. It could either fade or become better than what it already was. But for Eren, everything beautiful he has found never taken the other path. Everything had faded for him so far. All that was left was his friends and any good memories he could find.  
He backed away from the window and moved around his bed making his way to the door. He turned the knob slowly as to stay quiet opening then closing the door leaving it slightly open. He shuffled across the wooden floorboards cringing at every creak approaching Mikasa's door. Eren did the same thing opening and closing Mikasa's door leaving it open a crack. He sat in the seat placed next to her bed putting the scarf on his lap. He looked at Mikasa who hadn't seemed to move much since he last saw her. He set the scarf on the night stand letting his fingers linger on the fabric before releasing it. Turning back to Mikasa he noticed her hands clenched tight into fists. Looking back at her face, she was all tensed up. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her teeth clenched. _What could she be dreaming?_ Eren asked himself. He came to a realization that it must be the nightmare again and grabbed her hand enclosing the other one around it. She tightened even more and brought her knees to her chest, tears starting to roll down her face. He released her hand and climbed onto the bed embracing her again. It was all he knew to do, like a process. He'd done this many times before. And as the process goes, she eased up a bit and unclenched her fists. She steadied her breathing and released her knees from her chest. Eren loosened his embrace backing away enough to see her face. He slipped his hand in hers once more resting his head on her pillow. He closed his eyes releasing a sigh of relief. The nightmare was gone.

Mikasa's eyes fluttered open letting her break free from her sleep. _I'm… alive?_ She was looking directly at Eren. His eyes were closed but his breathing signaled that he was awake. She felt something in her hand as she tried moving it. Looking at her hand she noticed Eren's hand intertwined in her own. She glanced back at Eren, his eyes still closed. She closed her hand around his causing him to open his eyes. He stared into the deep pools of grey in her eyes.  
"You're finally up." He said with his tired voice. He didn't sound it but on the inside he felt a million fireworks explode. His eyes opened up more where the shine reentered his pupils. She was finally awake. Her eyes shifted throughout the room.  
"What time is it?" She asked releasing a big yawn. He sat up crossing his legs barely missing the edge of the bed.  
"Uh, I'm not exactly sure. It's definitely morning though." He answered.  
Mikasa sat up against the wall resting her head back as she felt jabs of pain go through her her body. 'So that really did happen'  
"Mikasa, don't sit up too fast, you're not completely healed yet." Eren argued.  
"I'm fine, I've felt worse" She said adjusting her posture. She felt different somehow. Her neck felt… bare. She reached up to her neck ignoring the soreness in her arm and realizing the scarf was gone.  
"Where's my scarf?" She asked dropping her hand to the bed. Eren reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the scarf he had given her so long ago. Mikasa leaned over to grab it but Eren pulled it away.  
"Hey." She said trying to retrieve the scarf.  
"Wait." He said holding it out of her reach. She dropped her hand and did exactly what he said. Wait. Eren leaned over the bed and coiled the scarf around her neck tossing the remainder over her head. It slid off her face revealing a slight smile.  
"Seriously, you suck at wrapping scarves." She pulled the scarf loose and recoiled it around her neck the proper way she always did. She crossed her legs and put her hand in her lap. They sat in silence. Some movement was heard throughout the rooms as the light began to come through the windows. It was dawn, which meant the people meant to cook breakfast were getting up which left about half an hour for the rest of the group to wake up. Eren lightly rubbed Mikasa's hand which was still in his own. She noticed and looked back at Eren who was zoned out.  
"Eren, are you okay?" He flinched waking up again and looked up at Mikasa. He just looked at her for a moment. Hesitating to respond.  
"I'm just glad you finally woke up." Mikasa's eyes glistened for a moment. Had she really been asleep so long? She tightened her grip.  
"How long have I been asleep?" She asked curious. Eren looked back down to the bed.  
"I don't know… 3 maybe 4 days." It wasn't as long as she'd thought, but, it felt like a long time. She felt lucky it hadn't been weeks or even months. Catching her breath she let out a sigh of relief. Looking back at Eren she noticed something about him was different. Something was bothering him. She started rubbing his hand as he did before. He returned her gaze. She smiled slightly and leaned over putting her empty hand on his knee.  
"Are you okay?" She said once more but softly.  
"I don't really know…" He leaned forward and reached to her forehead tracing over the deep cut and moving away the strands of her straight black hair, tucking it behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her jawline making her face burn slightly. He gazed into her eyes, his hand cupped under the left of her jaw. She felt her heart race as he brought his hand to the back of her neck, supporting her head. Mikasa returned his gaze as he starting leaning forward. She did the same letting her eyes slip shut. Eren tilted his head allowing their lips to lightly touch in the middle. It surprised him when she kissed him back wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him closer. They uncrossed their legs letting them fall to the side. He moved his hand to the back of her head slipping through her soft locks. His arm wrapped around her waist pulling her closer. It was a soft yet passionate kiss. They slowly released each other loosening their grips and stared at one another.  
"It seems like you know." Mikasa said pressing her forehead to his. Her face was burning but her heart fluttered. Her face was inches from his, enough to feel his breath.  
"Okay maybe I do." He leaned forward to kiss her again when they heard someone walk down the hall stopping at the door. Mikasa backed to the wall while Eren threw himself off the bed back into the chair. The chair tipped sending him backwards and tumbling into the other wall. The door opened slowly letting light from the outside pour in as a figure stepped through the door.  
"I thought you'd be in here." Armin said walking into the room closing the door behind him.  
"Damn it Armin, if you knew I was in here why didn't you knock?!" He rubbed his head.  
"The door was open already." Eren brought his hand to his face. He hadn't closed the door all the way. Armin glanced over to the bed noticing Mikasa sitting up against the wall clinging her blanket as if it held her life.  
"Oh, you're awake. No wonder Eren's in here." That's when he realized he had interrupted something. He walked over to Eren giving him a hand up.  
"Sorry… I didn't realize I was interrupting." Eren's eyes widened staring at Armin.  
"What?!" Eren fell back to the wall. No doubt everyone could hear the large thud of him hitting his head. There were some rushed footsteps coming from down the hall. As expected, someone came knocking at the door.  
"Is everything okay in there?" Historia's voice was slightly muffled by the door. She walked in noticing Eren on the floor and Armin standing in front of him, his hand out firmly grasping Eren's.  
"Everything's fine I was just looking for Eren." Eren stood from the floor rubbing the back of his head.  
"Um, okay." She smiled then looked over at Mikasa.  
"Hey" Mikasa waved. Historia walked over to the bed to greet her.  
"Hey, nice to see that you're awake. You probably shouldn't be sitting up just yet though."  
"It's fine. It doesn't hurt too much." She said releasing the blanket from her tight grip.  
Eren walked over picking up the chair he had toppled and set it upright. He gave Mikasa a smile before exiting the room, Armin soon following after him. Historia walked to the door and looked back at Mikasa.  
"I'll bring you breakfast as soon as it's finished being made. You don't need to get up yet." She said flashing her friendly smile before closing the door behind her. Mikasa sunk down under the sheets pulling them to her face to cover her hard blush and rare smile. She buried her face in her scarf. Eren's scarf.

Armin followed Eren down the hall grabbing his shoulder as soon as he caught up with him.  
"What happened in there?" He asked as Eren turned around to face him. They were right outside Eren's open door. Armin folded his arms over his chest waiting for Eren to say something. He grabbed Eren pulling him into the room and closing the door.  
"Do you really want to know?" Armin nodded. Eren knew he was going to regret saying anything. He had to say something though. If not, others would look into it along with him and soon everyone would find out. Plus Armin is one of the most trustworthy people he knows, not to mention his best friend. He glanced around thinking on whether or not telling him was a good idea.  
"I won't say anything. I promise." Armin reassured him. He meant it. He wasn't going to tell the others this time. It is something he knows he can't share. Eren locked his door planting himself next to Armin. Resting his elbows on his knees he tapped his foot on the ground looking anywhere but Armin.  
"Come on. You can tell me. I swear I won't tell anyone." Armin said placing his hand on Eren's shoulder. Eren looked over to him and noticed his serious expression. He let out a sigh then sat up.  
"I-We… We…" He choked on his words. Talking about it was a lot harder than he thought. Armin stared at him waiting for him to let out the last words. Eren bit his lip trying to release them. He felt the air in his throat choke his words. They would stutter out, he couldn't bring himself to say it. 'Come on! I can tell him!'  
"We… kissed…" Eren looked back at the door slightly smiling at the thought. Armin couldn't help but smile too. Eren had finally come to his senses. He patted his back making Eren look back at him.  
"So… was it on the cheek or…" Armin asked. Eren let out a slight laugh.  
"No… On the mouth." He looked away.  
"I won't say anything. I know you like her and that's your business." Armin stood from the bed unlocking the door then walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. He wouldn't say a word about it.  
Eren stood up and ran out of the room catching up with Armin.  
"You promise?" He made sure.  
"Like I said, I won't say anything. Be careful what you say though, these walls are thin." Armin warned.  
-

They made their way to the dining room meeting up with Sasha and Connie who were already seated. Sasha was complaining to Connie about something that couldn't quite be interpreted by the time Armin and Eren joined them.  
"… I mean, it's not fair. I can make good food!" Sasha finished her sentence.  
"What are you talking about?" Armin asked. Connie just looked back at him giving him a warning face. He shouldn't have asked.  
"I'm not allowed to cook anymore just because I was tasting some of the food! Sorry I want to make sure the food I make actually tastes good and not like shit."  
"But you weren't tasting it. You ate almost a quarter of the scrambled eggs." Connie argued.  
"I wasn't eating the eggs! Like I said, I was tasting them! Just… a large portion of them."  
"And that's why you can't cook anymore."  
"Maybe that's how I taste my food. You don't know how I do things."  
"Whatever, but now breakfast is going to take twice as long since Jean's the only one in there."  
"Actually…" The two glared over at Eren.  
"…I saw Historia heading to the kitchen earlier. Maybe she's helping out now." The two peered at one another, then back at Eren, then back to each other.  
"I guess I'll just have to check then." Sasha stood from the table pushing her chair back and walking out of the room. She rounded the corner opposite to the hallway where the kitchen was. Coming up next the open doorway of the kitchen, she pressed against the wall and peeked around the corner. She easily spotted Jean at the stove, his back to her. She stretched her neck out trying to view the full kitchen. She retreated once she saw the short blond walking towards Jean with a large bowl. Sasha backed away slowly from the doorway making her way back to the dining room.  
"Okay, you were right, she's in there." She announced to the three boys. She reclaimed her seat and crossed her arms leaning on the table. It was silent for a moment as they all waited for one another to start a conversation.  
"So what was that loud noise earlier? I mean, if you know?"Connie said. It was the only topic that could come to his mind at the moment.  
"Oh, I just fell into the wall." Eren said rubbing the back of his head again. He felt a slight pain as he traced over where his head had made contact with the wall.  
"But it didn't sound like it came from your room." Connie said attempting to dig deeper as he usually did.  
"Yea, I was in Mikasa's room." Eren said. He wasn't going to tell them anything about the kiss, but it probably wasn't the brightest move telling them he was the cause of the noise. He prepared himself for a flood from Sasha and Connie, the two main gossipers.  
"Why were you in there?" Sasha questioned.  
"I was returning her scarf. I washed it before and remembered this morning when I woke up."  
"But isn't the scarf really yours…" Connie slipped out. Armin flushed 'This isn't going to be good'.  
"Wait, how did you know that?" Connie realized his mistake and flushed like Armin. 'Uh oh…' They weren't planning on letting him know they knew.  
"Oh… you know… rumors were spread around when we were trainees so… we kind of figured…" Connie lied. He didn't want to rat Armin out considering his tight bond with Eren.  
Eren was about to speak when Levi entered the room already in a conversation with Hanji. They sat down continuing their conversation ignoring the small group beside them that went silent the moment the two walked in. Basing on the amount of talking they were doing, they had probably been in this conversation for awhile now. And as talkative as they were the room was a bit quiet. Jean and Historia came walking into the room arms loaded with food.  
"Well, it looks like everyone's awake now." Sasha said preparing herself for the oncoming food. Historia and Jean handed out the plates and silverware sparing an extra. Historia grabbed the extra plate and started to head out of the room.  
"I'll be right back, I'm bringing this to Mikasa." She said from the doorway.  
"Wait, she's awake?" Connie asked but she was already gone. He picked up his fork and started eating his breakfast. Looking back at Eren he prepared himself to speak.  
"Did you know she was awake?" He pointed his fork at Eren. Eren nodded, his mouth full.  
"She woke up earlier this morning." He added.  
"So when you saw her this morning, was she already awake or she woke up soon after?" Connie continued the conversation.  
"Not long after I put the scarf on her nightstand." Eren kept eating trying to stay as casual as he could.  
"And about the large thud…"  
"Yea, I fell into the wall. What about it?"  
"You said you were in Mikasa's room when that happened. It had to have been after she woke up because I heard the noise minutes before you came out here. So what exactly happened?" Historia walked back into the room and reclaimed her seat to begin eating as well.  
"Nosy much? We just talked for a little while and my chair just tipped too far back." Eren was having a hard time shaking this guy off his back. He just kept shooting questions and absorbing the answers into his thick head. Eren was running out of excuses as well, and Connie was breaking down any defense he had of avoiding the full truth. He wasn't very good at coming up with things on the spot, so he came up with other answers for any more questions from Connie. He just didn't know how far Connie would pry.  
"Well, the walls are thin and I'm in the room next to Mikasa's and I didn't hear much talking…" Historia said staring down at her plate as she stabbed another piece of egg and shoved it in her mouth. Eren glanced over to her caught off guard. He definitely wasn't expecting that. He let the question process in his mind trying to think of an excuse.  
"Well, we weren't necessarily talking very loud." Eren internally slapped himself. That was too easy to see through. He was just praying it would be enough. Historia glared at him making Eren uncomfortable. It was one of the many persuasion techniques Ymir had taught her. Even Historia could see there was more to what happened than these excuses.  
"I was up early enough to hear you go into her room, I heard the whole conversation from my bed. And the last thing I heard before it was quiet for awhile was Mikasa asking if YOU were okay. Don't you think that's a bit weird considering she's the injured one here?" Historia said. She was acting as if she were a detective. No. Connie too. Maybe even Sasha as well. Why do they suddenly care about what goes on between him and Mikasa?  
"I think you've known her long enough to know she's very protective of me. So her asking if I'm okay is normal, even in this situation." Eren swiftly responded. Connie opened his mouth to speak but quickly retreated as well thinking about it. Their conversation would soon die if someone didn't speak quickly. Levi and Hanji were still talking on the other end of the table, while Jean, Armin, and Sasha sat on the sides listening to the riveting conversation that was perishing by the second between Eren, Connie, and Historia.  
"Then why was it so quiet?" Historia finally asked. Eren choked. He was out of excuses. But he still refuses to tell them. Just telling them would make him wish he could be invisible. He's pretty much cornered.  
"Uh… We just sat in silence for a little while…" He was screwed to hell.  
Armin was fidgeting in his seat. He was trying to think of other excuses as well. His mind scrolled through any possible answer or lie he could tell them to hopefully get them off Eren's back. He found a simple excuse, it wasn't much, but something had to be said soon or there would be much suspicion.  
"When I came in, everything was quiet and Eren was tipping his chair which he then fell. I helped him up but lost his grip and he fell into the wall. That was when you walked in, Historia. That's all that happened." Armin explained. The truth was bent but it was mostly what happened, which kept his promise towards Eren. Historia relaxed herself and continued eating as if nothing happened. Connie and the others as well. Levi and Hanji still talking about who-knows-what. Eren relaxed as well looking back at Armin who gave him a smile. The hard part was over, though it came sooner than expected.

Finally finished Chapter 8! It sucks getting writers' block while in the middle of writing a story. Sorry for the wait, it was longer than expected. But I've proven a scientific fact, Pocky can cure writers' block. Chapter 9 coming soon!(Don't worry, it won't take as long as this chapter did)


	9. Chapter 9

Eren and Armin began walking back from the distant mountains. Eren had been doing his titan training as they planned from when they first got there. He took a 30 minute rest after being released from the vigorous training. And even now, he can't remember most of what he had done during that training. He turned his face to the burning sun in the sky. It was warmer today than the past couple days. Or maybe it was him who felt warm. Even with the stress of training, he still felt happy. His eyes closed keeping the peace in his mind. He's never felt this good before. The events from this morning… Every detail was engraved in his head. He didn't want to forget. Maybe this world isn't 'that' bad. There's always some kind of good in it. He let out a deep sigh catching Armin's attention.  
"Why are you so happy? I thought you'd be super stressed after all that." Armin said walking along side him back to the house.  
"I guess I'm just in a better mood today." Armin smirked. That's what he figured. Normally Eren would get mad and even depressed when training didn't go well. But he was always determined to keep going. Yet today… he willingly stopped as ordered. It was nice to see him not pushing himself as hard.

As they approached the house, a figure slowly stepped out of the door. There were only 2 people left in the house and the rest of the group was trailing along behind Armin and Eren. The only people there were Mikasa and Historia. Mikasa was trusted with protecting Historia if anything were to happen while they were gone. Even in her condition, she could still fight. This person seemed taller, had a woman physique and short black hair along with a deep red scarf tied around her neck. It was most definitely Mikasa. Eren watched her as she backed out of the doorway in her scrubs.  
"What does she think she's doing? She can't possibly be walking around already. She just woke up this morning!" Eren said speeding up his pace. Armin sped up as well trying to keep up with him. It hurt for her just to sit up, how could she be walking around already? Why? Well, that's Mikasa, she doesn't really like not doing anything.  
Eren and Armin were in a bit of a jog now, quickly approaching the front of the house. As they approached the door Eren noticed something. She was insanely stiff and her eyes were wide. She stopped backing away and was staring into the doorway. Something must have happened. Whatever happened, it must not be good. They both slowed into a walk once they reached the edge of the porch. Eren slowly walked to her giving Armin a signal to stay where he was. He was going to take care of this.  
"M-Mikasa?" Eren said in a soft voice trying not to scare her. Even though he tried, she jumped forward and turned around swinging her arm just barely missing Eren as he ducked. Her arm made a whooshing noise before she retreated her attack. Eren stood back up straight looking at Mikasa's startled expression.  
"And here I am thinking you liked me…" Eren said trying to lighten the mood. Her face started to slightly burn as she shifted her gaze from him to the ground avoiding eye contact. She looked back into the doorway composing herself. It reminded her. She instantly grabbed Eren's arm and pulled him off the porch back to where Armin was. She looked directly into Eren's eyes tightening her grip on his arm. It had took him awhile to notice. She was shaking. Her eyes were wide like before and tears were now swelling in them. She was scared. But of what? He was about to speak when Mikasa started first.  
"Historia's gone" She blurted out. They were silent for a moment, all of them. They just looked back at one another repeatedly.  
"What do you mea-" Mikasa interrupted Eren.  
"I couldn't do it… I couldn't save her…" She looked to the ground, ashamed. She loosened her grip and let go of Eren. Instead she now clenched her fists. 'What could have happened in there?' Mikasa was never scared. So for this to happen…  
"He had a large knife… and…I…" She forced back her tears. No more. She wouldn't cry. She had promised herself to be strong a long time ago. Breaking now, won't do any good. Strength was one of her best weapons. She looked back up anger now in her eyes.  
"I couldn't do anything. I was too scared." She willingly admitted. It was said so straight forward, in her normal tone. The guilt fueled her anger making her grip her hands even tighter. She had become too vulnerable lately. She cared too much for her friends. Especially Eren. But now, one of them is gone on her count. She was dismayed as Eren put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. It was so sudden. Everything moved so quickly but now… She stood motionless. Her grip loosened and her eyes shifted around as she realized what was happening.  
"Mikasa, I know you're trying to hold back and be strong. But. You couldn't have done anything. Everyone has something to fear. There's no reason to blame yourself. We knew something like this would happen at some point." He released her then backed away giving her some space. He put a half smile on his face trying to get one back as well. Mikasa let out a small huff relaxing her mind.  
"I'm not as frail as you think of me right now…" She wasn't supposed to be afraid. But she swore to protect Eren, how weird it felt feeling guilt for someone else.  
Armin placed his arm between the two pointing at their group who was slowly tailing them.  
"We have to inform them about the situation. Mikasa, do you remember which way the man went?"  
"He left out the window which he came in my bedroom. He ran left, away from where you came. Most likely to the town by the forest, maybe farther towards Sina. It was only the two men who attacked but there's no way they acted alone. One of the men is still in the house. I knocked him unconscious the moment he came in, but I don't know how long it will last." Both Armin and Eren followed as Mikasa went back into the house searching for rope which was easily found with their group. With most of whatever strength she had, she carried the man over to a dining room chair where the rope now lie next to it on the table. She tied the man tightly to a chair making sure there would be no way of escaping easily. Completing the complicated knot, she clapped her hands together rubbing off anything that could have gotten on them. She turned her head back to Armin and Eren, hands on her hips.  
"You said you couldn't do anything, yet this guy is here." Armin said crossing his arms and putting a smirk on his face.  
"He was the first to come in. So I hit him with a chair. Thanks for leaving it in there by the way, Eren."  
"I just didn't feel like dragging it back out to the dining room."  
"So you don't want to admit you actually helped."  
"Yes… I mean NO! NO! I didn't even know this was going to happen!" Eren defended.  
"But you said not long ago that you knew something like this would happen soon."  
"I can't deny that I said that, but… but… Ugh. Would you just accept that it was a coincidence?"  
"You're too easily worked up. I was just messing around." Mikasa said turning back to the man.  
Eren let out a sigh and stood silent. Mikasa kept her arms crossed as she stared down at the man. She wasn't going to let people like him ruin another life. But what set her aside was the fact that Eren fixed her life. Just by being there that day, changed so much for herself. She put her arms to her sides and backed to where Eren and Armin were standing.  
"I guess we just wait for them to get here." Mikasa said rubbing her arm.  
"Mikasa…" She could hear Eren say. Her hand moved up and down her arm.  
For some reason her arm seemed wet and sticky. Like… like blood.  
"Mikasa." Eren said a bit louder this time. "Did your cut open up? You're bleeding." Mikasa looked down her side noticing the red liquid had run down the inside of her arm and her shirt. Her light coat had concealed the bloodstains on her shirt until it dripped down to her pants.  
"Can't i get a break" she mumbled as she made her way into the office. She grabbed the medical kit. She was annoyed with getting hurt lately and now she added another wound to her trail of destruction. Shuffling through the kit she searched for the binding that was used before. The roll trailed over her hand into her palm as she pulled it loose from the kit. She left the room and shuffled down the hall passing Eren and Armin at the dining table with the man tied up, into her own room for fresh clothes. She closed the door, as to not let anyone in while she changed. Tossing the bloody shirt into a corner, Mikasa pulled a fresh one out of the clean pile she had left at the end of her bed. She was left in only pants and her bra. She placed the clean shirt on her bed and examined the binding on her arm. Weird enough, it wasn't very bloody. But the amount of blood she had seen earlier couldn't have been this. She unclipped the pin that held the bindings together and unraveled the thick fabric only to reveal that same cut from days before, semi-healed.  
Mikasa felt a jolt of fear course through her. She couldn't have… It wasn't her arm that was bleeding… The lower left of her body… She looked over to the window which the men came through. A knife was on the floor in front of the window. There was blood on it. Her blood. Looking down on her bare stomach, she could see the wound. Blood gushing out. It was weird, she couldn't feel anything before. How could she not remember getting stabbed? As risky as it was, she decided to hide her wound. Finding Historia was their main objective. Eren had enough to worry about and he needed to keep focus. She had been hurt too many times lately. Her wound was a distraction.  
She wrapped the binding around her body pinning it together and throwing her fresh shirt over it. Shuffling over to the window she picked up the bloody knife. She cringed as she felt some pain bending down then back up. She turned the door knob and threw open the door more aggressively than she meant resulting in a large thud as it hit the wall. She walked slowly the knife in her hand passing through the hall towards the kitchen. As she passed the dining room she could see the group had finally arrived. Eren was explaining but as she walked by, all eyes went to her. Not really her though the knife. She noticed their fearful glare at the knife and looked back towards them lifting the knife up.  
"Don't worry, I didn't kill anyone. One of the guys got one on me though…" She referenced to her arm that had the old binding still on it. She continued into the kitchen and threw the knife into the empty sink making a clanking sound as it settled. She walked back into the room with a neutral expression on her face. Nobody had moved an inch. They kept staring at her as she took her seat.  
"What is it?" she asked.  
"Why are you so pale?" Sasha asked from her usual seat across the table. Mikasa put her hands to her cheeks. She did feel a bit cold. Must have been from the blood loss.  
"Well, I did lose some blood earlier." she admitted. Sasha shook her head.  
"You don't lose a lot of blood from a single cut to the arm."  
"Okay, it doesn't matter right now. We have a more serious situation than my injuries. Historia is gone. This guy should know where he is." Mikasa motioned to the man she had tied to a chair. He was waking up. Shifting in the seat realizing his binding to the chair. He started to panic and looked up opening his eyes wide, noticing the crowd at the table.  
"Dammit…" he mumbled to himself.


End file.
